Sanding apparatus for locomotives.



No. 674,762. Patented May 2!, l90l. J. GAPP.

SANDING APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

(Application filed Dec. 24, 1900,) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shani I.

WITNESSES 2 //v VENTOH,

w W m 4 TTORNEY No. 674,762. Patented m 2|, l90l.

J. GAPP.

SANDING APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

(Application filed Dec. 24, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheath-Shoat 2.

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WITNESSES: INVENTOH,

A TTOHNE Y ili'tn JOHN GAPP, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

SANDING APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 674,762, dated May 21, 1901.

Application filed December 24, 1900. Serial No. 40,889. (No model.)

To (ti/Z whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN GAPP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanding Apparatus for Locomotives, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to apparatuses for sanding the tracks to increase friction for the drive-wheels of locomotives; and it relates more particularly to that class of sand apparatusus in which a jet of compressed air is used to force the sand through the pipes; and the objects of the invention are to eliminate the difficulties arising from condensation-water in the sand-pipes consequent upon the introduction of cold-air blasts therein, to prevent the clogging of the pipes by settling of gravel and other heavy substances therein, to simplify the construction, to decrease the weight, to increase the efficiency and improve the form of such devices, and other objects, as are herein specified, and pointed out in the claims.

To these ends my device consists of the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts, as specified, and illustrated in the drawings, in which Figure l is an end view of the boiler portion of a locomotive fitted with my improved apparatus, showing the locations and relations of the several sand-pipes, traps, and drain-valves which enter into my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of part of a locomotive, further illustrating my method of connecting up the pipes and also showing 110w the same is operated from the engineers cab of the 10 comotive. Fig. 3 is a detail outside view of a drain-valve entering into my invention. Fig. 4 is a view of the same, taken at right angles to that of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section, taken on the line :10 0c of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detail view of a double trap used to convey the sand from a single pipe to two separate points. Fig. 7 is a partial cross-section showing the interior construction of parts of said trap. Fig. 8 is an exterior view of a modified form of my trap where two separate sand-pipes lead from the sand-box. Fig. 9 is an interior view of a modified form of trap where two separate pipes lead from the sandbox. Fig. 10 is a detail view, partlyin crosssection, of a modified form of my trap, having my drain-valve in a shortened form attached directly thereto.

Similar characters of reference denote like and corresponding parts throughout the several views.

For the better understanding of my construction letit be noted that in order to force a prompt delivery of sand through the pipes leading from the sand-box on locomotives to that part of a rail next to a drive-Wheel it has been found necessary to introduce a jet of air from the reservoir used for operating on air-brakes in connection with the train and locomotive and since during the interval between the times when the sand-pipe is used the air within the pipes assumes a temperature generally higher than the surrounding atmosphere and since the lower ends of the pipe are open and otherwise exposed to the effects of steam and moisture the air within the pipes becomes charged with considerable moisture there is a considerable production of condensationwater upon the induction into the pipe of the compressed air, which suddenly expanding lowers the temperature of the atmosphere very greatly and suddenly. This condensation-water is sufficient to so wet the sand within the pipes as to make it soggy and immovable under the ordinary pressure, and at certain temperatures the condensation-Water is actually frozen in the pipes, completely clogging them from operation. It should also be noted that in the traps provided heretofore the sand surrounds the jettube, embedding it, and portions of gravel are thereby permitted to gather around the jettube to further increase the difficulty by holding moisture and assisting in the clogging of the sand.

My device is so constructed as to obviate the difficulties above referred to. The jet-tube is set backwardly in the trap, so as not to be embedded in the sand and yet allowing the sand to be delivered by gravity from the sandbox to the portion of the pipe immediately in front of the jet, while the air introduced into the jet is brought through a rising pipe of sufficient size in which if condensation takes place the condensation water will not be raised by the current of air and squirted into the sand, as by the old method, but will be drained to a lower'part of the pipe and there discharged through a safety-valve, which remains open when the air is not turned on and closes by the pressure of the air when the apparatus is in operation.

In the drawings, 1 designates the boiler portion of a locomotive, and 2 the sand -boX mounted thereon, from which sand-pipes 3 and 3' extend downward on the right and left hand sides to double trap members 5 and 5', respectively. The pipes 3 and 3 are fitted, respectively, with plugs 4 and 4 at their couplings near the sand-box, said. plugs closing openings through which access may be had to the interior of the pipes by any kind of cleaning instrument. In the equipment of a locomotive with sanding-pi pes itis usually deemed necessary to at least have two pipes 6 and 7 on each side of the locomotive, the pipes 6 being adapted to sand the track in the forward motion of the locomotive and the pipes 7 during the backward motion. Additional sand-pipes might be attached to lead from a triple or quadruple form of the trap member 5, so as to run sand-pipes to several of the drive-wheels for the forward motion of the locomotive. For this purpose it has been usual to run several pipes corresponding to 3 from the sand-box and by means of a trap member corresponding to 5 branch the said pipe to as many sand-traps as are required. Where there are two pipes leading from the sand-box corresponding to 3, my device may be attached by means of several trap members, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, which are designed to be secured together by means of a square shank 16, arranged to extend into a square socket l7 and to be secured therein by means of a set-screw 18. The sand-trap particularly consists of a conduit for sand 19, leading from the pipe 3, and an air-nozzle 20, pointed so as to blow a direct current into the pipe 6, the said air-nozzle being supplied with air under compression through a pipe 8, which leads to it in an upward direction. A sloping projection 21 is arranged in close proximity to the nozzle 20 and is adapted to direct the sand to the front of the nozzle, so as to be blown through the pipe 6. Underneath the nozzle the lower end of the trap is closed by a removable plug 22, which plug is arranged to be removed for the purpose of extracting gravel or other substances which may have gathered about the nozzle, being too heavy to be blown through the pipe 6. The trap member is securely fixed to the pipe 3 by a screwthreaded connection and additionally secured by means of ajam-nut 23. The pipe 8, through which the compressed air is introduced into the trap, leads upward from a drain-valve 15. All of the several traps are similarly con structed and operated similarly, so that it is deemed unnecessary to enter into detailed explanation of the additional ones shown. A pipe 11, controlled by the turn-valve 13, is

adapted to conduct the air into the drainvalve 15 to supply the pipe 8 aforesaid, and the pressure is supplied from the usual airbrake tank, which is connected through some suitable pipe, as 14. The required valves, as 12 and 13 one for the locomotive when moving forward and the other for the locomotive when moving backwardare arranged in a convenient place in the cab of the locomotive. The drain-valve 15 has a screw-threaded connection at its upper end with a pipe leading from the cab aforesaidas, for example, the pipe 11, as shown in Fig. 5. A tube 24, having a screw-threaded connection with the inner end of said pipe, e-Xtends downward through the body of the drain-valve, its lower open end being directly opposed to the check-valve lid 25, which check-valve is held normally open by means of a coiled or other suitable spring 26, thus allowing any water drained from the pipes 11 or from the pipes 8 and 8, all leading into the upper part of said valve, to escape through the opening 27 in the lower part of'said valve.

In the compacted form of my device shown in Fig. 10 the valve 15 is shortened and attached to a plug 28, the tube 24 in that instance being connected at a downward curve 29 in the nozzle-tube 20*. In this modified form the pipe 8, plug 28, and the nozzle 2O are attached to a bracket 30, integrally made with the member 5 and projecting to one side from the conduit 19, and the plug 22 is smaller and is slightly in front of the nozzle aforesaid. In this form the pipe 6 is bent upward, so as to prevent wasting of sand when the air is turned off, that precaution not being necessary where there is a long reach of horizontal pipe, as shown in the drawings in Fig. 2. The drain-valve shown in Fig. 10, as is evident, may also be used in addition to a similar drain-valve connected to the pipe 11, as shown in Fig. 5.

The operation of the device is more fully explained as follows: If the turn-valve, as 13, in the cab is opened, so as to set the forward sandpipes into operation, the compressed air from 14, being suddenly expanded in the pipe 11, produces con den sation-water,which, running downward through the pipe 11, may fill up any space around and under the tube 24 in the drain-valve 15, while the comparatively dry air passes to the right and left into pipes 8 and 8, respectively, going to opposite sides of the locomotive, and is there forced through the respective nozzles, as shown in the traps,"

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rcoiling, opens the valve-lid and permits all condensation-water gathered in the body of the valve to escape through the orifice 27, thus effectually draining all of the air-pipes, which, as before explained, are arranged to lead downward to it and upward from it. If any condensation-water happens to be in the pipe 8 aforesaid, leading to the nozzle in the sand-trap, a downward curve 29 in the nozzletube, drained by the tube 24", leading into an additional drain-valve 15, will eliminate said water rather than squirt it into the sand or sand-pipe 6, where it will moisten the same and clogit. By these means I effectually prevent condensation-water from being thrown into the sand.

As many locomotives are supplied with two sand-pipes on either side leading from the sand-box, the forms of traps shown in Figs. 8 and 9 may be connected together, as explained, and attached to said pipes, and as the sand-pipes leading from the traps are also sometimes difficult to change the form of double trap shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is very well adapted for connection on locomotives with such pipes; but where a locomotive is to be fitted out with an entirenew set of pipes I prefer to use the modified form of trap shown in Fig. 10, by means of which in such occasions I may entirely dispense with the drainvalve located under the boiler, and thus simplify the piping.

I do not wish to be confined to the exact description of the constructions as shown in the drawings,'as it is evident that many of the details may be varied without departing from the general spirit of my invention.

\Vhat I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a track-sanding apparatus for locomotives, the combination with a sand-conduit and sand-delivery pipe, a sand-trap and airnozzle extending therein and arranged to blow a jet of air through the sand-delivery pipe, a source of compressed air, and a pipe with a downward bend leading from the source of compressed air to the nozzle aforesaid, of a drain-valve suspended from the lowermost portion of said pipe, said drain-valve having a body of considerable length adapted to gather a quantity of condensation-water, and provided at its lower end with a check-lid adapted to be closed by the pressure of the air within the pipe, and normally opened by a spring when the pressure is relieved for the purpose of draining the condensation-water gathered in the pipe, substantially as specified.

2. In a track-sanding apparatus for locomotives of the kind described, the combination with a compressedair pipe, of a drainvalve having a long body and being suspended downward, the said drain-valve, provided at its lower end with a check-lid adapted to be closed by the pressure of air within the pipe, and normally opened when the pressure is released, the body of said valve being provided with a tube extending downward centrally, and space surrounding said tube adapted to hold a considerable quantity of condensation-water, by means of which condensation-water from the pipe is eddied into the body of the valve aforesaid, substantially as specified.

3. In alocoinotive sanding apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a sand.- conduit pipe, a sand-delivering pipe leading therefrom, and an air-nozzle at the junction of the two, and arranged to send an air-jet through the sand-delivering pipe, of a projection in the said sand-conduit arranged directly over the jet-tube, and adapted to throw the current of sand forward, and into line with the current produced by the jet-tube aforesaid, and a cavity underneath the jettube aforesaid, the said cavity adapted to arrest gravel and heavy substances from the sand, and a removable plug in the bottom of said cavity for the purpose of extracting the said gravel therefrom, substantially as specified.

4. In a sanding apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a sand-con ducting pipe and an air-jet tube, and a sanddelivering pipe leading from the junctionof the two, of a crook or bent-down portion in the air-jet tube, to which bent-down portion a drain-valve is attached, the said drain-valve being automatically closed by the pressure of air, and being arranged to catch the water of condensation which may accumulate in the said jet-tube, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN GAPP.

\Vitnesses:

J. N. SMooT, D. G. MORAN. 

